My Noodle Experiment: Agar Agar Noodles

Before I did low carb I was a rice lover. But now after being on it for awhile, rice just doesn't do it for me anymore. I see it as it truly is, a mere extender. So I've been able to avoid rice, easily.

Avoiding noodles is such a struggle however. yes, I said "is" because I would still have it now and then. When I was in college, I ate instant noodles three times a day. They were cheap, simple and fast and those three matter a lot to a college student. My metabolism must have been better then (well this was like 10 years ago, too) because with this eating habit I was actually at my lowest weight as an adult, 102 lbs! But I didn't like the way I looked. I only have one picture of that time and I think I've misplaced it.

Shiratake noodles have been quite popular in the low carb circle. I tried looking for it here but I couldn't. So I kept lusting after noodles and giving in to it at times. Then just out of the blue I remembered a smart trick that my family's cook would do.

Buko (Coconut) Salad is a very popular dessert here. However coconut can get expensive especially if you want to use high quality, tender and sweet coconut. What our cook, Inday, would do is she would extend it by using gelatin strings. So I asked her how she made them. Since she used gelatin, I decided on using agar agar instead because its melting point is higher than gelatin and I could use warm sauces on it.

I bought one pack of agar agar bar which is 50 g. I kinda tore it up and soaked it in cold water. Then I boiled 2 cups of water and while it was on a rolling boil, I added the softened agar agar (squeezed out all the cold water). I boiled it until the agar agar dissolved then poured it into a plastic container and let it set. once it was set, I used a melon grater to grate noodles out of it.

Now there are tons of sources online about making agar noodles. Mine isn't as pretty as the pictures I've seen but I don't mind. It totally works for my purpose and I will make it whenever I get the craving for noodles.

Please forgive the poor quality of the pictures. I used my phone and I wasn't expecting to post it on my blog. Maybe when I make it next time, I can post step by step pictures.

I've only used my homemade alfredo sauce. When I had it the second time I added some shrimps and scallops to the sauce. It is quite filling and I would definitely keep working on this.